"Removing All Obstacles"--a lecture on Ganesha
4/18/2013 7:30 PM
NEW ASIAN ART INCLUDING A SCULPTURE OF GANESHA,
"REMOVER OF OBSTACLES," ON VIEW AT THE CARLOS MUSEUM
Now on view at the Carlos Museum is a ninth-century red sandstone sculpture
of the elephant-headed deity Ganesha, the "remover of obstacles," and an
eighteenth-century miniature painting, illustrating a scene from the Ramayana,
one of the greatest epic poems from India.
The sculpture of Ganesha shows the deity seated on a lotus throne, his head
framed by lotus petals. His four hands hold an axe for removing obstacles in
the lives of his followers; a mala or prayer beads, used in meditation; a
bowl of sweets; and his broken tusk. The eighteenth-century miniature
painting, heightened with gold on paper, depicts three major figures in
Hindu mythology: Rama, his brother Lakshmana, and Hanuman, his devotee. In
this scene, Lakshmana tenderly removes a thorn from Rama's foot as the
latter steadies himself, his hand upon Hanuman's shoulder. Bonnie Speed,
director of the Carlos Museum states, "The Museum hopes to build a
significant collection of Indian miniature paintings, specifically of scenes
from the Ramayana, as a resource for Emory University's departments of
Religion, Middle Eastern Studies, and South Asian Studies."
Lecture at 7:30pm
at the Carlos Museum, Emory University
On April 18, Joyce Flueckiger, professor of religion at Emory,
will introduce Ganesha in a lecture titled
"Removing All Obstacles: The Worship of Ganesha in India."
